Survey: Most Employees Bullied by Bosses

WRITE A COMMENT

IMAGE:

Advertisement

March 21, 2007 -- More than half of all U.S. workers have witnessed or been the victim of abusive behavior from an employer, a new survey shows.

In a nationwide poll of 1,000 full and part-time employees, 60 percent said they have faced a bully boss at least once in their careers, according to the Employment Law Alliance, a San Francisco-based group of employment and labor lawyers.

The incidents they cited include teasing remarks, public criticism, or yelling by a supervisor or boss.

Age seemed to play a factor in the amount of bullying an employee experiences, the survey found. Only 24 percent of workers aged 18 to 24 said they had experienced an abusive boss, compared to 56 percent for those aged 56 to 64, the survey found.

Another influence may be location, with 56 percent of workers in the Northeast reporting incidents of bullying, compared to just 34 percent in the South, the survey said.

Up to 64 percent of respondents said they felt bullied workers should have the right to sue abusive employers for damages.